CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1
On 21 March 2013, the Public Interest Disclosure Bill 2013 (Bill) was
introduced by the Minister for the Public Service and Integrity and the
Attorney-General (Minister), the Hon Mark Dreyfus QC MP.[1]
On the same day, the Senate referred the provisions of the Bill to the Senate
Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee (committee) for inquiry
and report by 25 June 2013.[2]
To assist the parliament's timely consideration of the Bill, the committee
decided to present its report on 13 June 2013.
Purpose of the Bill
1.2
The Bill seeks to establish a legislative scheme to investigate
allegations of wrongdoing in the Commonwealth public sector, and provide robust
protections for current and former public officials who make qualifying public
interest disclosures under the scheme. The Commonwealth Ombudsman and the
Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) will have oversight
functions for the scheme, and the Ombudsman and the IGIS will also be
responsible for assisting agencies and public officials in relation to the
scheme's operation.[3]
1.3
The Bill would largely implement the Australian Government's 2010
response to the 2009 report of the House of Representatives Standing Committee
on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Whistleblower protection: a
comprehensive scheme for the Commonwealth public sector.[4]
1.4
In his Second Reading Speech, the Minister described the three main
aspects of the Bill's framework:
The first is to encourage and facilitate all Commonwealth
public officials to report suspected wrongdoing. The second is to make sure
that reports of suspected wrongdoing are properly handled by agencies and in a
reasonable time frame. The third is that [the] bill protects public officials
who report suspected wrongdoing from adverse consequences as a result of
reporting their concerns.[5]
1.5
The Minister also explained:
The Bill will encourage a pro-disclosure culture by
facilitating disclosure and investigation of wrongdoing and maladministration
in the Commonwealth public sector. In doing so, it will promote the integrity
and accountability of the Australian government public sector. It builds on
practices established in the Australian Public Service for more than a dozen
years but which have not been applied elsewhere in the Commonwealth public
sector.[6]
Structure and key aspects of the Bill
1.6
The Bill has a complex structure, and contains a series of lengthy and
complicated definitions and tables. It contains five parts, as follows:
- Part 1 sets out preliminary matters, including commencement
information, an objects clause, an overview of the legislation, and relevant
definitions;
- Part 2 provides for the various protections for 'public officials'[7]
who make public interest disclosures, including immunity from civil, criminal
and administrative liability (including disciplinary action) for making the
disclosure, and civil remedies for reprisals
taken against disclosers. Part 2 also defines the four categories of public
interest disclosures:
- 'internal disclosures';
-
'external disclosures';
- 'emergency disclosures'; and
-
'legal practitioner disclosures';
- Part 3 provides for the allocation of the handling of disclosures
to agencies and the investigation of disclosures by the principal officers of relevant
allocated agencies (however, investigative agencies may instead use their
separate investigative powers);
- Part 4 provides for various administrative matters, including
additional obligations and functions for officers and agencies involved in
public interest disclosure investigations. It also contains offence provisions
to protect information obtained through processes connected with the
legislation, and contains further definitions of key concepts relating to
officials and agencies; and
-
Part 5 deals with miscellaneous matters, including the
Ombudsman's annual reporting requirements, delegations of powers within
agencies, the determination of standards relating to handling disclosures and
the conduct of investigations, and the preservation of parliamentary privilege.
Conduct of the inquiry
1.7
The committee advertised the inquiry in The Australian on
27 March 2013. Details of the inquiry, including links to the Bill
and associated documents, were placed on the committee's website at www.aph.gov.au/senate_legalcon.
The committee also wrote to over 80 organisations and individuals, inviting
submissions by 26 April 2013. Submissions continued to be accepted after that
date.
1.8
The committee received 28 submissions, which are listed at
Appendix 1. All public submissions were published on the committee's
website.
1.9
The committee held a public hearing on 24 May 2013 at
Parliament House in Canberra. A list of witnesses who appeared at the hearing
is at Appendix 2, and the Hansard transcript is available through
the committee's website.
Acknowledgement
1.10
The committee thanks those organisations and individuals who made
submissions and gave evidence at the public hearing.
Note on references
1.11
References to the committee Hansard are to the proof Hansard.
Page numbers may vary between the proof and the official Hansard
transcript.
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